The Philadelphia Phillies have had an interesting offseason so far. Philadelphia has so much money tied up in its stars, the Phillies are struggling to pay for other big-name free agents. As a result, the Phillies resorted to acquiring Miami Marlins ace Jesús Luzardo in a trade.
But what about the Phillies’ own free agents? Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report recently predicted Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman to leave Philadelphia for a three-year, $36 million deal with the Boston Red Sox. Rymer noted Hoffman as one of the more underrated free agents still available. “Jeff Hoffman was an All-Star this past year, so it’s not as if he’s some kind of mystery man. All the same, it’s worth acknowledging just how terrific the righty has been over the last two seasons,” Rymer wrote. “We’re talking a 2.28 ERA and a 33.4 strikeout percentage, figures that rank sixth and eighth among right-handed relievers.
“Hoffman is this good precisely because he has two pitches that hitters just can’t hit. One is an upper-90s fastball against which hitters batted .198 in 2024. He also has a slider that has limited hitters to a .136 average over the last two seasons.” Hoffman is one of the best relievers, aside from closers, in the entire league. He’s a shut-down righty that performs as one of the best high-leverage arms in baseball and the Red Sox could have him for $10 million or $12 million a year.
Boston has a lot of money to spend this winter after whiffing on Juan Soto. Almost none of that money has been spent, aside from around $20 million to acquire Walker Buehler. Boston could afford to pony up some cash to bring Hoffman to Fenway Park.
